Unknowing
by everg8er23
Summary: Lorne is missing something very important. Warning: slash
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Set early season two

Summary: Set early season two. Ronon is just starting to become acquainted with Atlantis and its people, but there's already one person who he can't keep his mind off of. Lorne/Dex

Response to challenge 'Unknowing' posted by ParisLove27 on Atlantica: "It has to be Lorne/Dex, but Lorne can't know that Dex is hitting on him! At least not yet! Tell me how he reacts (either good or bad-I don't care!) and what happens!"

A/N: This is probably as close to a crack!fic that I will ever get. I would never have written this under normal circumstances, but when I ran across this challenge my sleep deprived mind couldn't resist. It was just screaming to be written. I tried my hardest to keep Ronon in character, but obviously certain things had to be changed, and he came out a bit like a love-struck teenager… If you find this pairing bizarre, trust me, you aren't half as weirded out as I am. And I wrote it!

This is a bit of an experiment as I wrote each scene out completely from each character's perspective. The first bit is from Lorne's and the second from Ronon's. Hope you enjoy!

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The metal floor vibrated slightly each time his foot made contact, creating a small 'clunk' noise that echoed off the walls surrounding the improvised running track. Evan Lorne's chest was heaving as he tried to keep pace with the man running beside him. He'd been a little surprised when the Satedan had asked him to join him on his morning run, but had agreed readily wanting to become better friends with the alien. Lorne chastised himself for use of that word; Ronon was just another guy after all, despite the fact that he had been born and raised on a different planet.

Lorne slowed to a stop, his sides burning. Ahead he saw his running partner stop as well. "Sorry Ronon." He said sucking in the slightly chilled air. He bent over, his hands on his knees, his legs felt like a substance close to Jell-O. "I need to stop."

"I'm tired too."

Lorne looked up. The guy wasn't even sweating, but then again he was a _runner_.

"You do this every morning?" Lorne asked, clutching his sides.

"Yeah" Ronon shrugged, "helps me relax."

Lorne stared at him, this was relaxing?? "Guess I'm out of shape." He said feeling stupid as he panted and Ronon stood quite at ease.

"You do better than Sheppard."

"Really?" Lorne felt good about that, he could dangle it over the colonel's head next time he got too cocky. He turned to survey the room, taking in the metal walkway they were standing on and the crossbeams that ran along it. He hadn't been up here before and though the view wasn't much it was an interesting piece of architecture. He turned back to Ronon, intent on filling the awkward silence that had suddenly developed. There was a flash of something and then Ronon was making an extremely odd face and rubbing his head. Not sure what had happened Lorne tried to ignore it and asked, "Settling in okay?" He had heard rumors about a certain incident involving a marine.

Ronon made a noncommittal noise then said slowly, "Some people are nicer than others."

"Most people on Atlantis are really friendly once you get to know them." Lorne replied, trying to figure out what was going on behind the Satedan's stony mask.

There was a brief silence then Ronon said, "This was fun."

It took Lorne a moment to realize what he was talking about, then he gave a small laugh. He wasn't sure that running until you thought you were going to pass out was one of the things he classified as 'fun'. However, as much pain as he was in he told Ronon that he had had a good time and meant it too.

"Race you to the commissary?" Ronon grinned at him, his stance showing he was ready to take off again.

Lorne, on the other hand, was quite surprised he was still standing up and responded, "Only if you want to carry me to the infirmary afterwards." Lorne saw an odd expression flit across the tall man's face, but then it was gone and he was being patted on the shoulder.

"Come on Major, let's get you something to eat."

It was an extremely welcome suggestion as Lorne had skipped breakfast to prevent puking it back up later when he was running his heart out. "Call me Evan." He told Ronon and was rewarded with a smile.

XXXX

Ronon Dex felt his heart beating quickly against his chest. He knew, however, that his rapid pulse had little to do with the physical exercise he was performing. He glanced at the dark haired man jogging next to him and slowed slightly making sure he didn't outstrip him, something he could do quite easily. Silently he thanked Teyla, who had had the idea of inviting Lorne to go running with him in the first place. Usually Ronon disliked running inside, he was used to the feel of wind against his skin and grass under his feet. But today he barely noticed the metal flooring hitting his boots.

Suddenly he noticed that the military man was no longer next to him and skidded to a halt. He turned to hear Lorne apologizing, he was bent over, breathing heavily. Ronon took that time to notice how beads of sweat clung to the tips of the man's short hair, how the man's heaving back muscles stood out against the fabric of his t-shirt every time he drew breath.

"I'm tired too." Ronon said, willing his gruff voice to come out convincingly exhausted sounding.

Lorne's head snapped up at this, surprise etched across his face… apparently not so convincing. "You do this every morning?"

"Yeah." He shrugged, trying to act like it wasn't that big of a deal. "Helps me relax."

Lorne was staring at him, he wondered if there was something on his face.

"Guess I'm out of shape."

Ronon didn't agree with this at all and was about to say he thought Lorne was a perfect shape before he caught himself and said instead, "You do better than Sheppard."

"Really?" Lorne was smiling and Ronon swelled, knowing the lie had been worth it.

Lorne's head had swiveled to look around. Ronon quickly slid a concealed knife out of his dreads, checking his reflection in the blade. His companion turned back around causing Ronon to quickly stick his knife back into his hair, poking himself slightly. He winced, but tried to look casual as he massaged the back of his head.

Luckily Lorne didn't seem to have noticed anything odd and asked how he was settling into Atlantis. Ronon felt a flash of anger, remembering how he had knocked in the head of an extremely insolent jarhead. He tried to answer that it was okay but it came out as more of a grunt. He felt the flames of anger within him die as Lorne's gentle brown eyes studied him. "Some people are nicer than others." He told him, meaning one person in particular.

"Most people on Atlantis are really friendly once you get to know them."

Ronon knew this already, and he also knew he wanted to get to know Lorne much better. "This was fun," he started, trying to find the words to ask if they could do it again some time.

But before he was able to ask, Lorne laughed. Ronon became angry again thinking that Lorne was laughing at him. The anger left as quickly as it had come, however, when Lorne said, "I had a really good time."

"Race you to the commissary?" Ronon asked playfully.

"Only if you want to carry me to the infirmary afterwards."

Lorne had meant it as a joke but Ronon had a sudden flash of holding Lorne in a much different context. He shook his head to clear it then clapped the still panting man on the shoulder, "Come on Major, let's get you something to eat."

"Call me Evan." Ronon smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a few days since he had joined Ronon for the early morning run. Since then he had been seeing a lot more of Ronon than before. They just seemed to be in the same places at the same time. He reminded himself that even though the city was large, the expedition members inhabited a relatively small area and he was bound to run into the same people all the time. He wasn't complaining about Ronon's presence however, the guy was, despite being physically intimidating, relatively easy to get along with. Truthfully Ronon didn't talk very much and therefore it was hard to get on his bad side. So Lorne was not surprised to see Ronon approaching him with a food-laden tray from across the commissary.

"Hey Evan." Ronon greeted, sitting down on the other side of the table.

Lorne looked at him over his fork full of rice. "Hi."

Neither of them spoke again as they ate. The conversation, if you could call it that, had deteriorated into a semi-awkward silence in which Lorne couldn't help but wonder why Ronon wasn't sitting with his teammates who were a few tables over. He didn't ask, but just watched as the Satedan slowly cut his pork roast into neat little squares.

He thought Ronon kept glancing up at him, but he was probably imagining it. The silence was becoming unbearable when Lorne started on his cheesecake. Not being able to stand not talking any longer Lorne asked, "How did the briefing about the trade negotiation with the Belkans go?" Ronon looked sheepish for a moment, but the next minute it was gone, he had probably imagined that too.

"It was boring. I'm not really good at negotiating; I'd rather just shoot them."

Lorne had no trouble believing that. He tried to identify with Ronon telling him that he too was often tactless.

"You have a lot of insight." Ronon answered. Lorne didn't know what had prompted this but took the compliment anyway. "I mean you get on people." Lorne knew what he had meant to say but couldn't help but be a little taken aback at how it had come out. "I mean," Ronon gestured with his hands "you're nice." Ronon looked extremely flustered and Lorne felt sorry for the man who was now staring at his hands.

"Thanks…" 'I think', he finished in his head. They both smiled at each other.

"Do you… um…" Ronon looked just as uncomfortable as he had a moment ago. "Want to spar later?"

Lorne agreed, but with reservation, he had seen what Ronon was capable of. Of course, he could teach him that sweet move to disarm opponents.

XXXX

For the third time that day Ronon had lost his train of thought. That morning he had put his shirt on backwards, only noticing when he had sat down for lunch. Later during the briefing about… well he wasn't sure what it had been about, he hadn't been paying attention. He'd been caught up in thoughts of a pair of gentle brown eyes. And now as he spooned yet another helping of rice onto his already rice-piled plate, he realized he had, once again, been thinking about something other than the here and now.

One of the chefs was giving him a puzzled look as he finally put down the rice server. Ronon glared at him, satisfied when the chef cringed and took a step back. His eyes swept the room, searching. He found his teammates quickly and was about to head for them when he spotted someone else not far away and changed directions.

"Hey Evan."

"Hi," Evan said giving him a quick smile.

Ronon couldn't think of anything else to say and remained silent. He wondered if Evan was getting tired of his company, as over the past few days Ronon had taken every opportunity to be near to him. Taking meals at the same time; working out at the same time; he had even repressed his anti-social personality long enough to sit through a showing of Black Hawk Down in the lounge. All so he could sit next to Evan on a couch, hoping that maybe they would brush elbows. And now he couldn't keep his mind off the man, his eyes, his hands, the funny crinkles he got around his eyes when he smiled… The situation was reaching critical and yet all he could do was sit in silence, carefully and deliberately cutting up his meat. Teyla had told him that bad table manners were a turn-off and he wasn't taking any chances.

Suddenly Evan asked about the briefing that day. Ronon's knife slipped on his plate and made a rather unpleasant scraping noise. He didn't look up immediately, knowing there was embarrassment written on his face. But he grappled for control of his features and answered, "It was boring. I'm not really good at negotiations; I'd rather just shoot them."

Evan answered with what Ronon took to be an understanding look, "I know what you mean. My mom always said I lacked a certain amount of tact."

"You have a lot of insight." He knew that didn't make a lot of sense and tried again. "I mean you get on people." Ronon winced; he had not meant to say that. "I mean," he faltered feeling extremely foolish, "you're nice," he finished lamely. He wanted to say something more elegant than that, but didn't dare open his mouth again.

"Thanks." When Ronon finally pulled his eyes back up to meet gentle brown ones he found Evan grinning at him and couldn't help but smile back.

Ronon felt the urge to ask what he had wanted to ask for a week and he felt as if it was one of those 'now or never' type of deals. "Do you…" he was having trouble speaking again, "want to spar later?"

Evan agreed, but he looked reluctant and Ronon wondered whether he really wanted to or was just being polite. Maybe Evan was getting tired of his company after all?


	3. Chapter 3

Lorne entered the gym a few minutes before seventeen hundred, the time he had agreed to meet Ronon for their sparring match. There was already a mat on the floor and he wondered how long it would be before he was flat on his back on top of it. He bent down to untie his shoes and before he had finished Ronon had joined him. The large Satedan was grinning and Lorne guessed that Ronon was really going to enjoy slamming him into the ground. He forced himself to remember that he and Ronon were friends and that he would never hurt him on purpose, at least not seriously.

"You ready?" Ronon asked in his deep voice.

Lorne swallowed, his throat was closing up so he nodded.

With barely a warning Ronon's fist came at his head, he instinctively threw up his left arm to block. But as he was focused on the fist, he was surprised to find himself falling backwards, having had his legs knocked out from under him.

"Redo." He exclaimed, jumping back onto his feet as quickly as he had fallen off them. He wasn't going to give up that easily.

They started again. This time Lorne lasted about thirty seconds before Ronon once again had him pinned to the ground. The Satedan's elbow was in his stomach and half his body was across Lorne's keeping him on the mat. Lorne had the impression that he was being studied before in a flash Ronon had pulled him back to his feet.

The third time around Lorne thought he might actually be getting better. He felt as if he had the upper hand for a split second, but then his right arm was twisted painfully behind his back and his other was pinned between himself and his opponent. Lorne's twisted arm was becoming incredibly painful when at last Ronon let go.

"That was good." Ronon grunted moving to the other side of the mat. Lorne was sure that it hadn't been 'good' at all, but recognized that Ronon was trying to make him feel better and appreciated it.

Ronon was pacing on the other end of the mat; he didn't even look at Lorne as he said, "Now this time remember to keep your weight off your back foot."

It was basic advice, something Lorne already knew, he was just having trouble following it. Every time that the Satedan came at him, his muscles taut and his eyes burning, most of Lorne's energy went into not running in the opposite direction. He wasn't scared of Ronon, not at all, but seeing the six foot four man running at him was a bit intimidating.

He nodded to Ronon, letting him know he was ready. This time Lorne found an opening easily and aimed a kick to the man's stomach. Keeping his weight on his back foot he got ready for his next hit. A split second before Lorne's elbow made contact with Ronon's chin he knew that there was something wrong, but it was too late.

Lorne moved immediately forward when he saw Ronon massaging his hurt jaw. "Geez Ronon, sorry about that." And he really did feel sorry, but also he was glad that he had finally managed to get one up on the sparring master. "Are you okay?" He had connected pretty hard.

Ronon mumbled that he was fine, but knowing that Ronon was one of those people who hid pain Lorne decided he better find out if there was anything wrong himself. He put his hand gently on Ronon's chin, feeling a slight bump swelling underneath the short beard. Lorne fingered the area around the lump and saw Ronon close his eyes, wincing in pain.

"This doesn't feel too good-" he started but broke off when Ronon opened his eyes and fixed him with his intense green-eyed gaze. "Sorry," Lorne muttered again but he didn't back off as if Ronon was holding him in place.

"I guess that's why you shouldn't spar with the person you have a crush on."

What? Had he heard that properly? His mouth had fell open and then it all clicked. All the times he had run into Ronon unexpectedly, all the looks, all the touches, Ronon's awkward behavior… Why hadn't he noticed before?

He took a step back and tried to get a handle on his emotions. "Oh, um…" He shut his mouth. It was his turn to be flustered. "That is-" What exactly was it?

Ronon dropped his head to stare at the ground, "No, that's fine. That's-"

"It's great." Lorne cut him off. He was thinking back on the last couple weeks. He'd never appreciated until this point how much he enjoyed Ronon's company. He was a good listener and not even slightly judgmental, but he was always honest. Not to mention he was very easy to look at.

"Really?" Ronon was examining him in the way Lorne had become accustomed to.

"Yeah." His stomach was fluttering as Ronon beamed back at him. They each took a step forward, bringing them close enough for Lorne to be able to make out each individual hair in Ronon's mustache, close enough he could smell the sweat on Ronon's body…

XXXX

Ronon had been looking forward to today since they had agreed on a time to spar two days ago. He strode into the gym knowing somehow that today would be the day that he finally was able tell Evan how he was feeling. He just hoped that he wasn't the only one suffering from a serious crush.

Evan was removing his sneakers next to the mat on the floor. He was wearing a black t-shirt and Ronon was momentarily distracted by how Evan's dark hair was complemented by this combination.

"You ready?" He knew that he was grinning like an idiot but he couldn't stop, not that he had tried too hard. He waited for Evan's nod before launching towards him. The man was on his back for a split second before he had sprung back up. Ronon admired his tenacity.

This time he waited until he knew that Evan was truly ready and then moved. Ronon was glad to see that his opponent had learned from his first mistake and it took a few more moves before he was on top of Evan on the mat. Ronon enjoyed his position of dominance as he scrutinized the military man as if trying to read his mind. Evan was staring back in confusion and Ronon quickly got back up, taking Evan's hand and hauling him up as well.

The next time they fought Ronon had intended on letting the major having an open shot, but his competitive nature took over at the last second and he was suddenly holding both of Evan's arms and pressed up against his back. Ronon found that his nose was practically in Evan's hair and as he breathed in he was able to detect a slightly spicy scent. The arm he was holding twitched and Ronon immediately released his hold.

"That was good." He said, forcing himself to walk away from a remarkably tempting situation. He told himself to be careful, if he got that close to Evan again he wasn't sure he'd be able to restrain the urges he'd been ignoring for the last few weeks.

"Now this time," he said to change his focus back on sparring, "remember to keep your weight on your back foot."

He let Evan get in the first hit, feeling it was only fair as he'd already knocked the man on his butt twice today. Evan didn't hesitate as he took full advantage of the opening to kick Ronon in the midriff. He was just getting ready to block the next attack when his renegade mind took that exact moment to notice how cute Evan was when he was concentrating.

He never saw the elbow coming straight for his chin.

Ronon staggered back from the blow and his hands automatically went up to check the damage. His jaw was definitely sore, but it didn't feel like there was any lasting damage.

"Geez Ronon, sorry about that." Evan was standing in front of him peering at him through concern filled eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine." Ronon said shaking off the pain. Evan apparently wasn't convinced, however, and reached up to examine Ronon's jaw himself. He ran his fingers over the spot where Ronon could feel a bruise forming. Ronon closed his eyes involuntarily, relishing the feel of the other man's touch against the sensitive skin. If that's what it took for him to get touched like that he'd take a hit to the face any day.

"This doesn't look too good-" Evan broke off and apologized again, but he still hadn't removed his hand.

"I guess that's why you shouldn't spar with the person you have a crush on." Ronon watched carefully to gauge Evan's reaction to this. It was a long moment before realization dawned. The spell was broken as Evan dropped his hand and moved backwards from him. Evan was scrambling for words and Ronon regretted having confessed his feelings, the heat was rising to his cheeks.

"No, that's fine." Ronon said, wishing he could take back his outburst. He found a speck on the floor to stare at so he could avoid Lorne's eyes. He tried to say that he hadn't expected Evan to reciprocate, that it was okay that he didn't feel the same way, even though it wasn't, but Evan wouldn't let him.

"It's great."

"Really?" He was suddenly aware of his heart beating, as if it had just started working again.

"Yeah."

They were moving towards each other, the gym was beginning to blur as Ronon lost sight of all but the man directly in front of him…

XXXX

Teyla had been on her way to her sparring appointment with John when she was stopped by the sight that met her in the gym. Lorne and Ronon were wrapped around one another as they stood in the middle of the mat. Sparring had been completely forgotten as they were busy doing other things with their hands, like exploring one another's bodies. Teyla averted her eyes as Ronon's hand made its way south.

"Hi Teyla." John greeted her as he walked towards the open gym door. Teyla acted quickly cutting off his path.

"John, I'm afraid we will have to spar later."

"What?"

"The gym is" she searched for the word, "occupied at the moment."

"It's a big gym." He told her looking doubtful. He tried to move towards the door again but she stood in his way.

"Why don't we go get some food?" She didn't give him any opportunity to resist and led him forcefully towards the commissary, far away from the two men who were lost in one another's kiss.

The End

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A/N: Thanks to all who have reviewed. It's great to know what people like and don't like.


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